Dark Future
by terriso167
Summary: Natsu finds himself in a strange world. After encountering two giant man-eating humanoids in the wilderness, he knows he's not in Fiore anymore. He finds a city, befriends many people, and joins the military force. When a girl named Annie Leonheart begins to lust after Natsu, it will only be a matter of time before he finds out the devastating truth about her.
1. Chapter 1 Where am I?

Natsu Dragneel stood off against the dragon king, Acnologia. During the battle between humans and dragons, Acnologia appeared, and it seemed that his target was Natsu. It was Acnologia. Natsu was bruised, bleeding, and exhausted. His clothes were worn and tattered, and fell from his body. He was now only left in his white pants, and white scaly scarf. Even his black sandals were gone.

Looking up at Acnologia, Natsu could only grin. However, it wasn't one of happiness, but one of pure bitterness. Acnologia had destroyed almost all of Crocus. The rest of Natsu's friends were battling with the other dragons, as well as Future Rogue. Acnologia hovered high above Natsu. Unlike Natsu, he barely had a scratch on him. Natsu's fiery will that once blazed seemed to be dim flickers.

The dragon suddenly shot a blast of magic from his mouth down at Natsu. Natsu darted away and launched himself high into the air towards Acnologia's underbelly.

"Fire dragon iron fist," Natsu shouted, his right fist igniting on fire. However, before he could reach the beast, it swiped at him. Natsu dodged them and grabbed onto one of Acnologia's front legs. As fast as he could, he dashed to the top until he reached Acnologia's back.

 _I need to find his weak spot! But where…?_ Natsu scanned around the giant beast's back until he fixed his eyes on one spot, that being Acnologia's head.

 _Yeah! If I hit his eyes, then he won't see me!_

Wasting no time, Natsu made his way towards the head. He knew what attack to use. No sooner had he reached the head, he found himself staring into the white, soulless orbs of Acnologia. This was the perfect chance to attack.

 **"Fire Dragon Grip Strike!"** Natsu was just about to blast Acnologia's right eye at point blank range, when something caught his eye. It must've caught Acnologia's eye too, because they both were now staring at the Eclipse gate. Somehow, it was opened and shining brightly. Natsu soon noticed that Acnologia was flying towards it. Seemingly, it had forgotten that Natsu was on its head.

Natsu normally would've taken the chance now, but he was very much concerned. If the gate was open, would more dragons pour through it? Why was the gate even open anyway? As soon as he and the dragon came into close range, it seemed they began heading faster at the gate. The dragon let out a roar and began to thrash violently in the air. It turned around, facing opposite of the gate while flapping its wings. He was still heading straight for the gate.

Natsu leapt off of the dragon to avoid being thrown off, but as soon as he did, he felt the same extreme gravitational pull that the dragon was. Some invisible force was pulling him towards the gate while he was in midair.

"What the heck!?" Natsu exclaimed while trying to avoid being sucked into the gate. Every second brought them closer to the Eclipse Gate.

"What's wrong with the gate? It's sucking me in!" Natsu screamed to himself. Somehow, Acnologia was ahead of Natsu, so he would be sucked in first. This granted Natsu an idea. He turned to face the black dragon, and ignited his feet on fire. Using his feet as thrusters, Natsu propelled himself forward towards Acnologia's face. Natsu then delivered his signature 'Fire Dragon Iron Fist' attack right on its snout.

Since the dragon was paying attention on the gate, he was unaware of Natsu's attack. Combined with the gravitational pull, the punch had a bigger effect of him, and when he hit him on the snout he was further pushed into the gate. With one final roar, Acnologia finally vanished into the light.

Natsu, however, couldn't celebrate. He was too busy trying to think of a way to get himself away from the gate's pull. He tried to use his feet as thrusters to propel away from the gate, but he was unable to. Everything around it was beginning to become sucked in as well. The ground, the buildings around it, all were beginning to enter the gate. Natsu turned around to see himself slowly inching towards the light. Suddenly, a large piece of rubble struck Natsu in the back of the head.

The Eclipse Gate finally claimed him, and he was taken over by the light, before falling unconscious.

 **~Several Days Later~**

Natsu jolted awake, sitting up. He leapt off the ground, ready to continue his battle with the Black Dragon, before realizing a startling fact. He was in a completely different setting. He found himself in a grassy forest. The sun shone brightly in the morning, and Natsu's body was wet with morning dew. His was still in in white pants and scarf, and his muscles still ached.

A whole new set of smells assaulted his nose; trees, plants, fresher air, dew, bugs and animals, etc. However, there was one smell that was foul. Very foul. He had never smell something like it. From his experienced, he was able to tell what whatever had the odor, was coming his way.

Immediately, as if on cue, faint thumps could be heard. Further advancing, the thumps began to sound more like echoing stomps. Louder and louder they sounded as it came closer. Natsu, being fearless, stood in a fighting position. One odd thing he noticed was that he felt empty. The magic power that usually filled his entire body was gone.

Natsu looked down at his hands, trying to conjure up some magic. Nothing came out. He hand remained empty, not igniting on fire. "What the..." Natsu muttered, failing to create any magic.

Natsu looked up, and found himself staring up at a 20ft man. Natsu screamed, jumping back. The giant man had short black hair, abnormally sharp teeth, was completely naked, and its eyes were down-right strange. Steam rose from its body.

"Woah! Sorry there, buddy," Natsu laughed comically, "Didn't mean to get scared so easily! Could you tell me where I am?"

The giant being just stood there, staring down at him, as if it had not heard a word Natsu said. Its face remain completely emotionless. Natsu noticed this, and stepped a bit closer. Something about this guy rubbed him the wrong way, so he tried to be cautious.

"Hello," Natsu called up to him, "Can you hear me?"

Suddenly, the thing launched at him. Natsu jumped back with a yell. The beast tried to grab Natsu, but he leapt away just in time. With blazing speed, the beast snatched him straight out of the air. Natsu felt its hand wrap around his body. As the giant lifted him towards him mouth, Natsu noticed that the giant's skin was extremely hot.

Natsu tried to struggle out of its grip. The beast held Natsu at its mouth, before its bottom jaw unhinged, opening its mouth almost impossibly wide. Natsu came face-to-face with rows of sharp teeth. _'Is he trying to eat me?'_

Natsu tried setting himself on fire, but once again his magic failed him. The giant flung Natsu into its mouth. He landed on the soft and wet tougue. If the teeth didn't eviscerate him, he would be crushed to death inside its mouth. The monster's mouth reeked of blood, and people. _'This isn't a human! This thing's been eating people!'_ In here, it was much hotter.

Just as the monster's mouth began to close, Natsu darted to the front of the mouth. He wedged himself in between the top and bottom rows of teeth. Using as much strength as he could, he forced the giant's mouth open. Natsu took hold of two sharp teeth, and pushed upwards, forcing its mouth to stay open.

The monster began to press its mouth closed. As it slowly closed, Natsu further strained himself to keep it from closing. In a sudden burst of strength, the top jaw pushed down, adding more pressure. Two teeth pressed into the skin of his left arm, causing Natsu to hiss in pain, before talking his fist, and punching the teeth.

Three of them were knocked out of its mouth. Natsu position himself so he was facing inside. He reached a hand into its mouth, and rammed his fist into the roof of the beast's mouth. The beast stumbled back with a roar of pain, releasing all the pressure of its jaw. Natsu leapt out, fresh cool air talking over him once again. As soon as he landed on the ground, he launched towards the monster.

He delivered a sweep kick, knocking the beast down. Natsu crawled up its body before he reached its head. Natsu reared back his fist, and delivered a devastating punch to the beast's face. The force caused a crater, and some trees around them fell. Blood and flesh exploded through the air.

Natsu looked down at the monster's face, which was now a bloody mess. Some blood had splattered on him as well, mixed with the monster's saliva. He panted heavily, before catching his breath.

The wound on his left arm bled lightly, since the teeth hadn't penetrated too deep. Natsu pressed his hand on it to stop the bleeding. He left the carcass to rot. He noticed that he still had his exceptional physical strength. He also took note that he could withstand the extreme temperature of the monster's body. He actually felt a bit stronger than before.

"Where am I?" He asked himself. He continued on walking until he reached the end of the forest. It was a large field, a plain that seemed to stretch for miles. It wasn't completely bare. There were small clusters of trees spread wide across. Natsu took in a deep whiff of the air. The air was filled with the scent of birds, grass, trees.

And a city.

"A city," he said to himself, "Maybe 4 miles? No, 5." With his nose, he was able to tell how far away the city was.

He began to trek across the large land. He noticed that the scent of that giant was all over the area, but none were really close to where he was. As the day wore on, the hot sun beat down on him. He longed for some water and food. He hadn't eaten ever since Gajeel showed him and the others that underground cave. After that, he fought over and over again.

"I don't even think I'm in Fiore anymore," he said to himself. _'Wait, scratch that. I don't even think I'm in my own WORLD anymore. Everything smells so new, stuff I've never smelled before. Even if I was on another continent, everything wouldn't be this weird.'_

Natsu released the pressure on his arm, seeing that it had stopped bleeding. "Am I in another world?"

His mind then backtracked to a conversation he had many years ago with his father, Igneel.

 **~Flashback~**

"Hey Dad!" Natsu called up to his father, who looked down at him.

"What is it," he answered in his usually booming voice, before getting down on all fours so they could see each other face-to-face.

"Well, I was wondering," Natsu began, "Are there other places besides this one, like worlds?"

"Worlds?" Igneel said, "What made you come up with THAT question?"

"I dunno, I was just thinking about it."

Igneel hummed in thought, before answering, "I never thought of there being other realms other than our own. However, it is quite a possibility."

"So there could be other places?" Natsu exclaimed in excitement. "That would be cool! What is we went somewhere where there were bigger dragons that you?"

"Natsu, what I've come to find out is that things are not always what you imagine them to be. Sure, being in another world would be interesting, but just imagine being there without a way to get home. Imagine not knowing where you are. I don't know about you, but that would be terrifying for me." Igneel said.

"Well, I guess you gotta point," Natsu sighed, scratching his head.

"I'm not saying give up your enthusiasm, just don't go around looking for ways to catapult yourself into a different worlds."

"Ok," Natsu said, regaining that toothy grin of his.

 **~Present~**

Natsu was sure that he wasn't on Earthland anymore. He also considered where Happy, Carla, and Lily came from. That was a different world. And just like in Edolas, he was unable to use his magic. That answered his question of there being other worlds, but it still left out if he was in a different world. Natsu was almost sure of it.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

The ground shook and the faint sound of rapid booms reached Natsu's ears. It sounded the same as the monster he battled in the forest, only heavier, and faster, like it was running on all fours.

Whatever it was, it didn't take long before Natsu spotted it over the horizon. When Natsu concentrated his vision, he saw it.

Another giant. Bigger, way bigger. And it was bent over and galloping, in some awkward example of a horse. This one's hair was slicked back, a golden-blonde color.

In less that 30 seconds. the beast had galloped across the field and charged straight for Natsu. Natsu ducked away just as it slammed its face into the ground were he once stood. Recovering quickly, he whipped around to face his attacker.

Before the monster attacked once more, Natsu took a very observant look on its face. Unlike the other one, this one's face was different. Its eyes were swirling in some ancient fear, and its mouth was open, a silent scream of terror forever plastered on its ugly face.

It bolted towards him with intense speed. Natsu leapt into a tree to escape its chomping jaws, and climbed high into the leaves to hide himself. Before he could respond, the monster had already turned around and was racing towards him. It slammed right into the tree Natsu hid, sending him flying onto the ground.

Still worn out from his previous battles, his normally quick reflexes were slower. In a clumsy attempt to eat him, the monster's jaws missed him, and its forehead collided with Natsu, throwing him into a tree. The tree was splintered instantly as Natsu flew through it. He was covered in small bleeding cuts from sharp wood pieces that pierced his skin.

The beast was upon him again, its jaws aiming straight for Natsu's body. Natsu leapt up and landed on the giant's head. He gripped its hair tightly as the beast began to gallop wildly across the field. Natsu punched the top of his head as hard as he could. He punched again and again.

"Die already!" Natsu screamed, before punch again. Natsu reared his fist all the way back, and sent it down. Natsu felt its skull crack, and the beast halted its running, sending Natsu flying forwards off of its head. Natsu hit the ground, and immediately turned around to face it. However, the humanoid was dead, its body parts still twitching.

Natsu panted, finally having killed the beast. "What's *pant* with these *pant* things?"

Fighting that giant took away most of what was left of his energy. To be such large beasts, these things were fairly easy to kill. Natsu set out again in search for this city. The day drew on further, and Natsu's energy was almost completely depleted.

 _'If I run into another one of the things, I might not make it.'_

Natsu turned a noticed something in the distance. A giant wall.

A city.


	2. Chapter 2 104th Training Corps

**Sorry for this being so short, but I was in a bit of a rush. Next time, I'll make sure my chapters are much longer. Just to be clear, Natsu arrives a few months before the Colossal Titan appears again, so hopefully that'll clear up any misconceptions.** **By the time most of you read this, I'll already be in Cincinnati. See you in a bit!**

New adrenaline pumped through his veins as he raced towards the wall. He raced to get there before any monster caught him first. It seemed to take forever, but finally he was able to get to the city. He stared up at it. The wall looked around 50 meters tall. There was no way he was going to climb that thing. Instead, he took in a deep breath, filling his lungs with air.

Then he exhaled in a loud shout, "HEY! DOWN HERE!"

The voice echoed up the wall and all across the land. Immediately, several heads peered over the wall and down at him. They stared at him for a minute, before one them spoke, "Who are you, and where do you come from?"

His voice was much quieter that Natsu's, but his enhanced hearing picked up the sound.

"I'm Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail! I come from the kingdom of Fiore! I found myself here a few hours ago!" Natsu answered as loud as he could.

They all stood there, as if pondering whether to let him into the city or not. Finally, three of them leapt of the wall and down towards him. They used some kind of wire coming out these two metal things on their waist. They used them so that they wouldn't plummet straight to the ground. They landed with a heavy thud in front of him. One was tall, slim, with blonde hair. The other was a bit shorter, with brown hair. They both wore matching uniforms, and these large metal objects on their waists. Both look around his age.

They noticed the blood splatters on his scarf, pants, and body. This time, Natsu lost all the strength in his legs, and he fell to his knees.

"Hey! Are you alright?" The blonde said, catching him.

"He looks extremely exhausted," the brown-haired boy said, "Let's take him into the city for a doctor."

Natsu's vision was blurry, but he caught one final glimpse of himself leaving the ground.

 **~Several Hours Later~**

Natsu awoke, finding himself in a large room. It was filled with large hospital beds, reminding him of the infirmary back home. He looked to his sides, finding three people. There was a man with blonde, neatly combed hair. He naturally looked like a leader. There was another, with short black hair, and seemed pretty short. He had this bored look on his face. On the other side of him, there was a female with brown hair in a ponytail, and glasses. Natsu noticed that they all had matching clothes. It consisted of a short, brownish jacket, white pants, and high black boots.

"Welcome back," the blonde said, "You were out for hours."

Before Natsu could say anything, the woman was in his face. "Wow! I never thought anyone lived outside the wall! And you're not at ALL normal! Your hair is so PINK! Does everyone have hair like this where you come from?"

"Hange, that's enough. I don't believe anyone feels like being bombarded with questions as soon as they wake up." The blonde man said with a deep, commanding voice. Reluctantly, she sat back in her chair.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Extremely hungry," Natsu admitted, holding his stomach. Natsu noticed that the wounds on his arm were cleaned and dressed.

"Hange, retrieve some food for him," the man said. "My name is Erwin Smith. This is my colleague, Levi, and she is Zoe Hange."

"Hey," the dark-haired boy said, "Those injuries on your arm. Where did you get them? We were able to determine that your wounds were fresh. Also, when you were found, you were covered in cuts and bruises. Care to fill us in?"

"I woke up in a forest. I was trying to figure out where I was, when this giant man-thingy attack me. It tried to eat me, and two of its teeth got my arm." Natsu answered.

When Natsu mentioned the giant man, Erwin and Levi tensed. Even Hange stopped right at the door, hearing Natsu's words. She left quickly for the food, when Erwin exchanged her a look.

"What did you do," Erwin asked, "Did you escape?"

"Escaped?" Natsu said, "No, I killed it."

At this, they all gasped. "After that I left. I left the forest and was in this large field. I could smell the city from where I was, so I was heading in that direction. Then there was another one, and it was bigger that the last one. It was bent over on all fours, trying to gallop like a horse or something. It threw me into a tree or two, so that accounts for the cuts and bruises on my body. I was able to kill that one too."

Erwin stared at him with his jaw dropped, and Levi's bored face was now filled with shock and interest.

"How did you kill it?" Erwin asked, almost in a demanding voice.

Natsu clenched his fist, saying, "With this."

The room got quiet, except for the door. Zoe had returned with the food. It was a small steak, with a loaf of bread. In her other hand she held of cup of water.

Natsu gratefully thanked her for the food before tearing into it. In about a minute, Natsu had ripped through the steak, What shocked Zoe was how fast he ate it, because the steak was tough to chew. Natsu felt hungry enough to gobble up the plate and cup. Natsu drank the water, washing down the steak and bread. He gave a satisfied, 'AAAHHH'.

"Wasn't too much food, but it'll hold me over until I eat some more. Thanks."

It was clear that this boy wasn't all al normal.

"What's your name," Zoe asked curiously.

"Natsu Dragneel," he answered.

"Natsu," Erwin began, "exactly how strong are you?"

"I was much stronger where I came from," Natsu said, "But when I woke up here, a lot of it was disappeared."

"I think I know a perfect place for you," Levi said.

 **~A few Minutes Later~**

"The 104th Training Corps." Erwin said proudly, overlooking the individuals. All of them were matched up, sparring with each other. The sun shone brightly, and the breeze was relaxing. Natsu wore a brown shirt. His pants were washed, and he had showered, so he wasn't stinking anymore.

"Hey, Shadis!" Erwin called down to him. One man turned around, and his features almost startled Natsu. The man was bald, with prominent wrinkles on his forhead. He had a short beard. What got Natsu the most was the dark circles surrounding his eyes.

The man turned and walked towards them. He looked at Natsu and said, "A new recruit?"

"Yes," Levi said. "He's devastatingly strong."

"What's with his pink hair," Shadis said.

"It was born this way. Do you have a problem with it?"

"Yeah, it kinda makes you look like a pussy."

"You won't think that when I punch those circles off of your eyes!"

Shadis got in the boy's face, saying, "Who the hell do you think you're talking to?"

Natsu stood there, staring straight into his eyes. It was clear that Natsu was grumpy. After about ten tense seconds, Shadis took a step back, saying, "I'm gonna have problems with you."

Natsu wasn't excalty thrilled about the situation. He just arrived at a city, wanting to find way home. Instead, he gets thrown straight into the military.

Natsu sighed, saying, "It's gonna be a while before I can get home."

Shadis took him down to where the other cadets were. All eyes were on him. In what seemed like a deliberate attempt to embarrass him, he turned and screamed in his face. "WHO the hell are you?"

Since Natsu was cranky, he didn't feel like dealing with this man's crap. "I'm Natsu Dragneel!" He screamed right back at his face.

"What are you here for?" Shais yelled once more.

"I have no idea! I arrived a few hours ago and ended up here! Is that good enough for ya?" Natsu retorted Murmurs ran though the crowd. They all were shocked at seeing how Natsu stood up to this man.

Almost everybody was afraid of him. Natsu had to be out of his mind, challenging Shadis.

However, to their even greather shock, Shadis seemed satisfied with that answer.

"You're real funny," he said, "And it's good to know my newest recruit isn't a pussy. Welcome to the 104th Training Corps."


	3. Chapter 3 Natsu vs Annie

**O** **k, just want to clear up a few things. The story is set during the five-year time skip, after the cadets graduate from the 104th Training Corps. Natsu's age is close to everyone else's. My arm is aching pretty bad because of a small accident I had while in Ohio, so it's making this story writing a bit more difficult. I, however, am devoted to make sure you guys have what you want. Ok, enough.**

 **Let's do this...**

* * *

Natsu wasn't exactly appreciative over the uniform he'd just received. Shadis gave it to him after screaming in his face the day before. Natsu was pissed at the whole situation. He missed the final match of the Grand Magic Games fighting the Executioners, spent most of the night battling dragons and Future Rogue, then Acnologia showed up, Natsu battled him, got sucked into some different world, found out he couldn't use his magic, fought against TWO humanoid giants trying to eat him, spending the day trekking across land until he reached a city to seek answers as to where he was, as well as food and shelter, and what happens?

He's enlisted into the military. Just great.

Natsu sat in the mess hall, away from everyone else. The place was big, and filled with people. He grumbled at his new outfit. The jacket, the pants, the boots, he hated it. It looked so tacky compared to his own clothes.

Shadis immediately tested him on the Vertical maneuvering gear. Natsu easily mastered it, and also discovered that his motion sickness was gone, so that was ONE good thing about the situation.

He was so immersed in his thoughts that he didn't noticed the person sitting next to him, until they tapped him on the shoulder. He jolted from his thoughts, and turned to see who it was.

There sat a boy, with dark hair and green eyes. He had a friendly look on his face. He noticed that he wasn't one of the people he saw with the other cadets. In fact, he seemed older than the cadets. Everyone here did.

"Hey," he said, "I haven't seen you around here."

"I'm not from around here," Natsu said. "And you weren't with the other cadets yesterday."

"We've already graduated," he said."

"Gee, thanks," Natsu groaned. "My name's Natsu, by the way."

"Eren," he said. "What military branch are you gonna join?"

"Miliarty branch?" Natsu questioned.

"Yeah, when you graduate from the cadets, you can choose between the Miliatry Police, the Stationary Guard, or the Scout Regiment."

"I don't really know about this stuff," Natsu said, "Like I said, I'm not from around here."

"So if you're not from around here, where did you come from?"

"Somewhere outside the wall," Natsu shrugged, "I woke up in a forest."

"Wait, what?" Eren exclaimed, "You came from OUTSIDE the wall?"

This shut everyone up in the building, and caught their attention.

"Yeah..." Natsu said, "Is that a problem?"

"It's just that, the rest of mankind had been hiding behind these walls for a hundred years. We're what's left of the human population. After the titans destroyed Wall Maria, anything beyond this wall is Titan territory!"

"Wait, so those two things I killed are called Titans?" Natsu asked.

"So you're saying that you killed TWO Titans?" Jean snorted, walking up to them. "With what weapons?"

"I didn't use any. I punched their skulls in," Natsu answered. The crowd let out gasps of shock, murmurs of disbelief, and gazes of awe.

"It's startling to know that there's life beyond our walls," Mikasa said. "Did you stay behind in Shiganshina after it was destroyed?"

"I don't know anything about what's going on. I woke up in a forest yesterday, killed two Titans, and made my way here. I don't know the history of this place."

"Hey!" Jean shouted, walking up to him. "You bumped into me earlier. I didn't like that!"

"What, are you angry about that?" Natsu said, giving him a annoyed look. "If I did, it's not that big of a deal."

"Yeah, I am angry! And I wanna kick your ass for it too!" Jean challenged. "So why don't you get your ass over here to face me?"

"Are you sure you want that?" Natsu growled.

Just before things could get any uglier, the door creaked open. Levi stepped in, and immediately spotted Natsu.

"Natsu Dragneel, come with me," he said.

Without hesitation, Natsu got up from his seat. He walked past Jean, and the two locked eyes as he passed. The tension only lasted from a moment, but was heavy enough to crush a building.

Levi and Natsu left the building, leaving the rest of the teen bewildered. Natsu let out a silent sigh, taking in the night air. Levi led Natsu down a few streets, and into a very dimly lit alley.

"Ok," Levi said, "consider yourself graduated from the training corps."

"Huh? Why? You just put me in there yesterday?"

"What's the name of the land you come from," he inquired.

"Um, Fiore..." Natsu said, wondering why Levi was acting so strange.

"Alright, that's all I need to know," he said, before walking away.

"Hey! What do I do for now?" Natsu called after him. "Since I'm not training anymore, what do I do?"

Levi turned and gave Natsu a look, as if thinking about what to say. After a moment, he said, "I'm sure you've met Eren Jaeger. Stick around him for the time being."

Levi left the alley, leaving Natsu extremely bewildered. Nothing was making any sense.

Natsu left the alleyway and retraced his path back the mess hall. His mind was searching for any possible explanation. Natsu entered into the building, and all eyes were on him as he passed. Jean jumped up from his seat and stood in his path.

"So, where were we, pinky?" Jean said.

"What is with you," Natsu questioned, "and you are you calling PINKY?"

"Look at this," Jean laughed, grabbing one of his pink locks. A few stifled laughs came from the crowd, but most were silent.

Natsu grabbed his arm to remove it, and that's when Jean threw a punch. It collided with Natsu's face. Although it didn't hurt that much, Natsu had reached his limit of tolerance. As soon as he did, he grabbed Natsu by the scarf fiercely.

' _He did NOT just grab my scarf!'_

Just as Jean was rearing for another punch, Natsu fiercely head-butted him. Jean shrank back, rubbing his forehead. He then assaulted Natsu one more time. Natsu gave a hard sidekick to Jean's abdomen. It sent him back a few feet, leaving him unable to breathe for a few seconds. Jean lay on the ground, gasping.

Natsu walked over to him, and kneeled down. He brought his face to Jean's, and looked him dead in the eyes.

"I have no idea what you against me," He growled, "But you WILL not toy with me! And NEVER touch my scarf like that again! Is that clear?"

Jean gave a shocked look, before puffing, "Yeah, fine. Whatever."

Natsu stood up, and reached his open hand down towards Jean.

"What are you doing?" Jean asked with surprise.

"Now that I've made that clear," Natsu answered, "Maybe we don't have to be enemies."

Jean sat there, wondering why in the world Natsu was doing this. Not many wanted to be his friend, or even TALK to him. After clearly pissing him off, here was Natsu offering to be his friend.

Reluctantly, Jean took his hand and stood up. Embarrassed, he walked past him and left as fast as he could without breaking into a run.

"Well, that was weird," Natsu said, before noticing all the eyes that stared at him. There was only dead silence.

"What?"

 **~The Next Day~**

The sun rose over the horizon. Fresh air filled Natsu's lungs, and he sighed a deep sigh. He stood on top of the 100-meter wall, the cool breeze washing over him.

"Hey, Dragneel," Reiner called, "I know the view's breathtaking, but we got work to do." He was holding some metal bars in his arms, that looked extremely heavy. Of course, Reiner's body was built like a iron wall, so he looked pretty able to withstand anything.

 _"Maybe I'll spar with him,"_ Natsu thought.

"Well, let's get busy," Eren said. "First, we have to check the cannons and make sure they're armed properly." Eren pointed to the large iron machines that lined the top of the wall.

"Cannons," Natsu questioned, "I don't remember seeing these in Magnolia."

"Magnolia," Sasha Blouse said, walking up to them, "Is that where you come from?"

"Yeah," Natsu answered.

"Oh, you're real lucky," Connie came in, "You're homeland was probably peaceful and stuff."

"Yeah right," Natsu scoffed, "tell that to the 8 dragons that attacked Crocus before I woke up here."

"Dragons?" Eren asked, "I've never heard of such a thing."

"Yep. Our guild was in Crocus for a competition, then 7 gigantic dragons showed up, destroying most of the city. Just when it seemed like everything couldn't get any worse, the king of them all appeared. His name is Acnologia."

The small crowd gasped, and Eren asked, "What in the world are dragons?"

"Truly terrifying creatures," said Natsu, "Giant monsters that unleash devastating waves of fire from their mouths. Most of them look like giant lizards, but a few were extremely different. One looked like it was made of stone, and another was made completely of fire. They have powerful wings that they use to fly and create destructive winds that can level buildings."

More shocked gasps responded.

"So, what about your guild?" Mina asked, stepping into the conversation. "What happened to them?"

"Well," Natsu answered hesitantly, "A lot of them died in the fight. Around 20 of my old guildmates were killed, but I lost contact with the rest of them when Acnologia showed up, and I fought him alone."

He didn't want to tell them about the past where he was sucked into a magical gate and ended up here. He also didn't want to speak on his relation to Atlas Flame. It seemed that the people here hadn't heard of the word 'magic'. Natsu also wasn't trying to make people look at him weird by just up and saying, 'I'm a fire dragonslayer, but my powers are gone because I got sucked into this world by some kind of portal.' Despite what everyone at Fairy Tail said, he was not THAT dense.

"How did you fight that beast," Eren asked. "What weapons did you use?"

Natsu paused, being careful to choose his words. Although he didn't particularly like to lie, it seemed to be the best choice for now. Finally, he answered, "It was a big sword, coated with a special dragon poison that can easily kill lesser dragons. To kill it, I had to strike it in the heart, which is what I was trying to do. During the fight, I fell unconscious and woke up here."

He added in as much as he could so no one would ask any more questions. He turned to the cannon, ignoring the people that looked on with pitying looks. He bent the truth as much as he could, but the part about lot of his friends dying was very true. He could sense around 20 dead, because he could sense their energy. When he couldn't feel them at all anymore, they were dead. This was why he believed Lisanna to be dead, when the fact was that her energy vanished from Earthland when she ended up in Edolas.

"Ok, that's enough questions for him," Reiner said, relieving Natsu, "I don't think he wants to relive that terror."

He was right about that. Natsu had never been so terrified in his life than fighting Acnologia. Also, the full weight of loss for his fallen companions was starting to crash down on the boy's heart, though he chose not to show it. The small crowd dispersed, leaving Natsu and Eren.

"So, how do you work this thing?" Natsu asked walking up to it.

"Well, he have to check it and make sure it's fully operational," Eren said, kneeling down to it, "So you do it like this..."

 **~A Few Hours Later~**

"Let's eat!" Natsu chattered excitedly he finally finished his task. It was a few minutes before lunchtime, and everyone was wrapping up their work.

Sasha looked about ready to swoon at hearing the word 'food.'

"Hey!" He called over to Reiner, "After lunch, I wanna fight you!"

"What?" Reiner asked, walking over to him, "Why do you wanna fight me?"

"I just wanna see how strong you are," Natsu grinned.

Reiner chuckled at seeing the boy's cheerful attitude. "Ok, whatever you say. Though, I won't hold back, since you look like you're pretty strong."

"Hey," Mina called over, "Let's go, it's time for lunch."

Natsu walked to the edge of the wall, and without hesitation leapt from it.

"Hey!" Eren called, his voice growing distant by the second as Natsu plunged to the ground. As he fell, he kicked off the wall to propel himself towards the city. He expertly made use of his gear to latch onto two nearby houses. The steam propelled him forward. He detached the grappling hooks from the houses and neatly landed onto the street below, skidding as his boots made contact with the ground. He slid for a few seconds then came to a complete stop.

He turned around to look up at everyone else still on the wall.

"There are less eccentric ways of getting down from there," a female voice sounded from behind him.

Startled, he whipped around to see who was behind him. It was girl about his height, chin-length black hair and dark colored eyes. The most notable thing about her was the red scarf around her neck.

"You're Mikasa, aren't you," He asked, recognizing her from last night.

She simply nodded, before pointing over to the wall. He turned, seeing everyone on top of the wall was heading to what looked like some makeshift elevator. The teens were lowered down in threes or fours.

"Not my style," Natsu laughed, scratching his head. "That'll take too long."

"You're a strange one, aren't you?" Mikasa cocked her eyebrows.

"If you see me that way," Natsu shrugged, before walking past her towards the mess hall.

"Hey! Wait up!" Eren called, running from the bottom of the wall towards them.

"He's weird," Mikasa said as he reached her first.

"Yeah, I know. But give him a break, he's been through a lot d before he woke up here." Eren said.

"He's been through a lot?" Mikasa asked.

"I'll explain it to you later," Eren said, taking off after Natsu.

They made it to the mess hall. Inside, Natsu sat down with his plate of food. He only thought he would be sitting with Eren and Reiner, but was surprised when more came to sit at his table.

Natsu was the funniest person any of them had ever met. After they ate, he spent most of the time making them laugh their asses off, telling jokes or making faces. Even some of the quieter ones were giggling. Just before he forgot, he said to Reiner, "Ok, let's fight!"

Reiner was taken aback at the boy's enthusiasm at wanting to fight, but he was more than willing to accept. "Alright, let's go."

Almost as quickly as he said it, the whole table got quiet. Natsu and Reiner got up. They walked to a small area where the tables were far enough for a good fight.

"Hey!" They're about to fight!" Someone from Natsu's table yelled, silencing the entire lunchroom as the two stared down each other. Immediately, teens got up to witness this. A crowd gathered, and since there were no adults present, things would go much more smoother. They stood a safe distance away, knowing that the match was going to be an intense one.

Murmers ran though the crowd, such as 'who's gonna win,' or 'it's about to get epic.' Many crowd members began voicing their opinions on who would win.

Just as the two were getting ready to throw the first blows, a sudden and loud scoff came from the crowd, which was followed by, "Fools." Whoever said it made it seem that they were TRYING to be heard. Reiner turned to the crowd and said, "What's wrong with testing someone's strength?"

Someone stepped out of the crowd. It was a tall girl with blonde hair and blue eyes that seemed to peer straight into Natsu's soul.

"What's really smart about fighting like it's a hobby?" She said. "It's stupid."

"I fought a lot in my guild," Natsu said in a matter-of-factly tone.

"Besides, I remember you challenging ME to a fight a short bit ago," she said, walking straight up to Reiner, "So why not now?"

"Hey!" Natsu yelled, "So you're just gonna bust in right in the middle of our fight?"

"Middle of your fight? You haven't even thrown a single punch yet," she retorted.

Natsu growled fiercely, before walking away. This girl was getting on his nerves, but at the same time she had completely charmed him. Natsu never imagined that a girl could charm him and piss him off at the same time.

"You're walking away?" The girl called after him, "Not very manly." The crowd responded with a "Ooooh." Natsu froze, and turned around to looked at her.

Her eyes stared straight into his, and her eyes were the most intense and beautiful he'd ever seen. Also incredibly intimidating. She had the beauty of Lucy, the seriousness of Erza, and the cockiness of Cana. Nevertheless, he would not back down. Her walked towards her until they stood face to face. Both were exactly the same height.

Reiner had backed away, knowing that a fight was about to erupt.

"What's you name?" Natsu asked with a grin.

"Annie Leonhardt," she answered, "And I hear that you're Natsu."

"Natsu Dragneel," Natsu confirmed, "And I hereby take you up on your challenge."

"Very well," Annie said, before suddenly throwing a fast punch. It connected with Natsu's forehead. It hurt more that Jean's punch. Instinctively, he leapt back to recover. Annie, however, was already upon him.

She came in with a hard roundhouse kick that fiercely connected with Natsu's ribs. She raised her foot above him and brought it down hard onto Natsu's head, bringing him to the ground. As soon as his body hit the ground, he spun around and knocked her down with a sweep kick.

He leapt into the air and came down towards her. She rolled away as he brought his knee down, and smashed the piece of ground were she previously lay. Everyone thought that he would've broken his knee. They were amazed when he jumped back up without injury. As soon as he did, Annie's knee slammed into his jaw, knocking him down once more with a yell of pain. She straddled him and brought her fist straight down onto his face, bringing more pained sounds from him. After a few more extremely hard punches, he flung her off.

Natsu and Annie stood off once more, taking note of each other's posture. All was silent, until Annie launched at him again. She aimed for his ribs, seeing that they were open. However, at the same time, Natsu ran forward and met her halfway. He shot his fist forward, and Annie crossed her arms in front of her chest to shield herself. The blow was a hard one, sending her back a few feet. Her arms almost felt like they were broken.

She took out a wooden knife, on of the one's used for training. Natsu looked at it confusedly for a second, before realizing that he had to disarm her.

She took a sideways glance at the crowd, immediately spotting Eren. Instantly, a memory was brought to her. She remembered when she flipped Eren while they trained. _'_ _I'll try that...'_

He raced towards her with blinding speed. She stretched her foot back, and brought it forcefully towards Natsu leg. She succeeded in connecting it with his leg, and he responded with a hiss of pain. She took this moment to grab his shoulder and sweep his feet out from under him.

For the faintest moment, she thought she had won. Natsu twisted in the air, landing on his hands. He used his hands to propel, and he slammed both of his feet into Annie's stomach. She let out a yelp of pain mixed with shock as she fell back. Natsu flipped back onto his feet and raced towards her. She regained her footing and jabbed at his chest with the wooden knife.

He shoved her arm out of the way, wrapped his leg around hers and pulled. The move cause her to lose her footing once more. As she fell backwards, he snatched the knife away from her grasp. As soon as her back hit the ground, she felt the blade at her throat.

He straddled her waist, held both of her arms above her head with one hand, and held the knife at her throat with the other. He had subdued her completely.

Annie stared up at him, and she could not help but blush. Natsu's face was the most gorgeous she had ever seen. He gave a smirk that made her blush a little more. She couldn't believe she actually felt bad for punching him so hard, seeing a bruise or two on his face, and a small trickle of blood from his mouth.

Natsu stared down at her, she had to be the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Her eyes glistened from the sunlight that flooded through the windows. He blushed a little as well.

Annie gave a defeated sigh. "I submit. You've won."

Natsu stood up and threw the knife away. He reached his hand down. She hesitated before accepting his hand. The two stood staring at each other, the sound of cheering teens seeming to be muffled in the background.

"Well, that was fun," Natsu said with a big toothy grin. "Let's do it again sometime."

Annie simply nodded, before pushing past him and rushing to the door and exiting the building. She wanted no one to see how madly she blushed.


	4. Chapter 4 Love or Lust

**I so sorry for my shortened chapters, I promise I will make this treachery up.**

It took a while for Natsu to notice that his heart beat intensely, even hours after the fight. He couldn't get Annie off of his mind. He sat alone on the roof of a tall building, letting his legs dangle. The moon was high in the air, and the city was silent. Natsu liked it this way.

The still image of her eyes staring into his, was something he could not shake. It was still there, she was still there. Trapped in his mind. After hours of debating in his mind, he finally concluded that he had a crush on her. He had never really known what being in love felt like before. He could never grasp the idea of devoting your love, thoughts, feelings, practically everything, to this single individual. He never seemed to understand that concept until now.

Now, all he thought about was seeing her again. He could see why Juvia was all over Gray, because he now understood the feeling. He was finally experiencing the effects of love. He just didn't know how to react to it. He didn't know what to do or say, how to greet her. He definitely didn't want to act like Juvia, practically harassing the one she loved.

'Wait, are girls into that? Nah, probably not,' He thought. 'Girls are an enigma.'

As Natsu was thinking, he didn't notice the person walking up behind him. They cleared the throat behind, startling him enough that he almost fell from the roof. He turned around and found himself staring into the blue eyes of the girl he couldn't stop thinking about.

"Annie!" He exclaimed. True, he wanted to see her again. Now that she was here, he didn't know what to do.

Instead of saying anything else, she sat down on the edge next to him. There was a long moment of awkward silence between the two. Annie broke the silence.

"I couldn't take my mind off you all day," she said, looking down at the street below, "You stayed glued to my mind, and I couldn't get you out, no matter how hard I tried."

Natsu sighed. "Same here." He wasn't ready to admit his feelings for her quite yet.

They once again dropped into silence. Natsu shifted uncomfortably, but Annie seemed to be perfectly calm, not meeting his eyes.

Once more, she ended the silence. "I'm starting to think I have feelings for you."

'Man, she sure isn't someone that likes to beat around the bush,' Natsu thought. She seemed like a less frightening version of Erza.

Natsu replied, "You too, huh?"

"The thing is, I can't tell what they are," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I can't tell if I've fallen in love with you, or if I'm simply lusting after you."

Natsu hummed in question. What in the world did lusting mean? He had most certainly heard the word before, but never knew what it meant?

"What does that mean," he asked. Annie gave him a look, wondering how he didn't know what it meant.

"It means," she began, "Love is wanting someone to be happy, caring for them. You want to get to know them, and you'll enjoy everything about them, even their little flaws. Lust, on the other hand, is much different. It represents more of a carnal desire, a strong sexual need."

Natsu stayed silent, taking in everything she said.

"And, I honestly can't decide. Maybe it's a bit of both," she said. "The point is, you've made me like you."

"Wow, Natsu said, "You sure don't hold anything back when you talk." He didn't say it in a admonishing tone, but rather one of curiosity. This girl seemed to just fascinate Natsu so much that he just wanted to know her much more. "Normally, when people like each other, they don't reveal it until sometime later."

"I guess it's because I feel...comfortable, talking to you," she said.

The two fell in silence after that. Neither said anything more. This time, the silence was comfortable, and Natsu felt that he could relax, even with Annie here. Natsu stared up at the beautiful moon in the cloudless night sky; Annie simply stared down at the street. She preferred looking down, seeing how high they were. When she was little, she used to be afraid of heights, but now she enjoyed watching her legs dangle. Every now and then, someone would walk down the street and politely wave to the two.

As calm as the two were on the outside, their hearts beat like crazy. Well, at least that's Natsu felt. Annie looked like the type of girl that was fazed by nothing. Natsu kept as calm as he could, but he couldn't stop the small bead of sweat that rolled down his face.

Taking his mind away from the subject, he began to think of his friends. But the fact that some of them were dead kept haunting him. When he first found out, he wasn't as heart-broken as he was now. He was in the middle of a fight with the King of Dragons, so he couldn't show any sadness. It only came back to him when explaining his story to the group on the wall.

'The worst thing is, when I get back, I won't ever see them again,' he thought sadly.

A sudden voice down called from the street, snapping him out of his thought. He looked down and saw a girl wearing the matching uniform. She hand long blonde hair, and blue eyes, just like Annie's. The difference was that her eyes were much more soft and innocent.

"Hey, you're name's Natsu, right?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah. That's me," he answered.

"My name's Krista," she responded. She then noticed that he was sitting with the girl that lost to him a few hours earlier.

"Hey, that fight was amazing. Both of you are really strong," she said.

Annie sighed and mumbled to herself. "Is everyone going to start bringing that up?"

"Oh! I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" She waving her hands in front of her. She blushed, but not with embarrassment. She blushed at Natsu.

Before anything else was said, a voice called her name from around the corner. There appeared a girl, tall with dark hair in a ponytail.

"Jeez, Krista! I was looking everywhere for you!" She said with what seemed like an exhausted voice.

"Ymir, what are you doing here," Krista asked as the girl wrapped an arm around her.

She was about to respond, before she noticed Natsu and Annie up on the roof.

"Was she interrupting you two?" She asked. Natsu didn't know what to say. Technically she was, but he didn't want to say no. He didn't mind some extra company.

Before providing an answer, the girl chuckled, "Wow, I don't think I wanna leave. You're pretty hot."

He looked over at Annie to ask her something, but was instantly shut up before the words came out his mouth. Annie gave the most venomous gaze Natsu had EVER seen in his life. It easily trumped Erza's scary stare. Natsu saw that she was staring straight at Ymir, although she didn't notice yet.

Natsu then noticed that Annie's fists were balled tightly, but not showing them. Why was she so angry all of a sudden? Was she angry with the girl? Annie's jaw clenched, and her breathing became a bit louder and slower. She looked about ready to pounce on the girl.

"Seriously," Ymir said, "I think we should get together or something!"

"Leave," Annie said in as calm a voice she could muster. Jealousy pierced her heart like an arrow. "Now."

"Aw man," She grumbled. "Alright, let's go." She pulled Krista along until the two vanished from sight. Annie's attitude calmed, and she let out a soft sigh. Natsu also sighed, relieved that the situation didn't get ugly.

"Annie, are you ok?"

"I'm fine," she answered, standing up. She walked a few feet, ebfore turning a putting her hands up in a fighting position. "I want to spar with you one more time."

"Seriously?" Natsu asked.

"Yes, so put up your hands," She said. Natsu sighed, getting up and putting his hands up. Annie quickly ran at him, aiming to kick the side of his head. Natsu ducked, and shot his fist up for an uppercut. It barely missed Annie's chin as she flipped backwards to avoid it.

The two went at it again, the only sounds being the whooshing air of their arms and legs. They sparred in silence. It was evident to both of them that the effort wasn't as strong as earlier. It felt as if they just sparred for fun.

However, Annie soon found herself on the ground, and Natsu on top of her. After a moment, Natsu began to get up. She wrapped her legs around his waist to prevent him from getting up. She didn't want him to leave.

Slowly, she pulled him down by his jacket, and caught his lips in a soft kiss.


	5. Update

**Hello to all my followers and supporters out there. First off, I want to thank you all for the insane support you all have given me. When I first started out, I didn't think I would EVER have all of this. I always thought I would be some obscure writer that only a few people knew or cared about. It has truly exceeded my expectations, and for that, I thank you.**

 **Now to the most important part. This was a VERY hard decision to make, and I've been debating this furiously.**

 **That's it, lads. It's over. All over. After all my hard work. After all my effort.**

 **As much as it breaks my heart, I must end all of my stories. Basically, I can't upload anymore chapters to these stories, and I have to leave them all uncompleted.**

 **I can already see it; my legacy I that built up crashing to the ground and crumbling away; the reviews and comments begging "WHY?".**

 **Believe me, I DID NOT want it to end like this. I imagined myself going out with a incredible blaze of glory, but not like this. I'm so disappointed, mostly for you guys; you all have been pushing me farther, and expecting the best out of me, and now I have to leave you all like this. I'm sad and frustrated, SO frustrated.**

 **Now, you all may be wondering why this all happened, and all I'll say is that a major life change was the cause. I am TRULY sorry that this actually had to happen, but it couldn't be helped. I desperately want to keep updating and uploading, and making you people happy, but it now has to end.**

 **The good news is that, I have an account on quotev.**

 **For those of you that don't know what that is, it's another pretty popular website, much like this one, where you can read and write fan fictions and stuff. The good thing with this website is that you don't only have to publish fan fictions; you can upload pretty much any type of story you want. And yes, you can even make your own quizzes for others to take. I recommend you to the website, and take some time to immerse yourselves within.**

 **I have a story published there, called Wicked Shadows. I am very sure you all will enjoy it, so go check it out. My profile is Terry Jones [VileShadow].**

 **Once again, I am SO sorry that this all had to happen. However, I will leave this account up. Maybe one day in the future, I'll be able to return and finish what I started. But for now, it is done. This is that last update I will post.**

 **I wish you all a good day and a happy life. :(**


	6. I'm Back

**I'm BACK! EXPECT SOME NEW UPDATES SOON**


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